Specifications, tolerances, and regulations for commercial weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices / United States Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards
Author:
United States National Bureau of Standards Search this
Quantitative electron probe microanalysis; proceedings of a seminar held at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland, June 12-13, 1967. K. F. J. Heinrich, editor
Documents relating to early development of radio aids to aerial navigation, mostly on behalf of the U.S. military services.
Scope and Contents:
Documents relating to early development of radio aids to aerial navigation, mostly on behalf of the U.S. military services.
Biographical / Historical:
This material describes developments related to the National Bureau of Standards work in radio technoloqy in its early days. It relates to specific projects (some classified) involving aerial navigation equipment and other electrical instrumentation. It was identified by Mr. Wilbert F. Snyder who was engaged in writing a history of radio work conducted by the National Bureau of Standards entitled "Achievement in Radio" and who•had access to the N3S files on this work. Most of the material he reviewed was sent to the National Archives and the present collection represents the residual.
Provenance:
Collection donated by National Bureau of Standards, through R. Kamper, and Boulder Laboratories, July 30, 1986.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
2.71 Cubic feet (4 photo albums, 384 glass plate negatives)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Aerial photographs
Scrapbooks
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- 1910-1920
Washington D.C. -- Photographs
Date:
1918-1920
Summary:
This collection consists predominantly of aerial photography of the Washington, D.C. area created by Dr. William F. Meggers (1888 - 1966), a noted physicist and spectroscopist at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), as part of a research project on sensitizing glass plate negatives which he carried out during the period 1918 to 1919. The collection includes 384 glass negatives (predominantly 4 x 5 inches, with some 5 x 7 inches), four photo albums, several folders of loose photographs, and a document.
Scope and Contents:
This collection, which consists predominantly of aerial photography from the period 1918 to 1919, contains 384 glass negatives (predominantly 4 x 5 inches, with some 5 x 7 inches), four photo albums, several folders of loose photographs, and a document.
Series 1 of the collection consists of material donated in 1967 by the Meggers family and includes four photo albums of print photographs, 85 loose print photographs, a photocopy of Meggers' and Stimson's 1920 article "Dyes for Photographic Sensitizing," and 263 glass negatives. One of the albums has prints of Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area (such as Arlington, Virginia, and the Great Falls of the Potomac). In addition to the aerial photography, there are a few views of the Fokker DH-4M-2 (Atlantic Model 1) biplanes used for the photography flights. Another of the albums contains images of Niagara Falls and the surrounding countryside. The third and fourth albums contain images predominantly from unidentified locations, except for some showing Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia. Photographs found in the albums are believed to be prints from negatives in the collection.
Series 2 of the collection consists of 119 4 x 5 inch glass negatives (almost all aerial photographs of the Washington, D.C. area) transferred on November 17, 2011, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (formerly the National Bureau of Standards). Views of northwest Washington, D.C., include the National Bureau of Standards campus on Peirce Mill Road; the original Wardman Park Hotel in the Woodley Park neighborhood; the William Howard Taft Bridge (Connecticut Avenue NW) across Rock Creek and surrounding Mount Pleasant, Woodley Park, Lanier Heights, and Kalorama Heights neighborhoods; the National Zoological Park (later the Smithsonian National Zoological Park) in Rock Creek Park; new homes in the Richmond Park neighborhood; the McMillan Reservoir, Filtration Plant, and Sand Filtration Site; and the United States Naval Observatory and Observatory Circle area. Views of the National Mall area include the Smithsonian Institution Castle, the United States National Museum (later the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History), the Washington Monument and newly-constructed Lincoln Memorial, and extensive War Office buildings. Views of the Capitol Hill area include the United States Capitol Building, the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, the Hart Senate and Cannon House office buildings, and Union Station. Views of southeast Washington, D.C. include Bolling Field (military airfield) and the Anacostia River and surrounding area. Views made across the Potomac River feature Arlington National Cemetery, including multiple views of the newly-constructed Memorial Amphitheater. This series also contains a few images of the Potomac River waterfront areas of Alexandria, Virginia, including the Torpedo Factory at the foot of King Street and the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation docks at Jones Point, and—farther downriver—views of George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Arrangement:
The materials are divided into two series. Series 1 consists of the original 1967 acquisition donated by the Meggers family, with the materials are subdivided by format. Subseries 1.A consists of the four photo albums; Subseries 1.B consists of loose black and white print photographs found inside the front cover of Photo Album 3 [NASM-9A19047] and grouped by location; Subseries 1.C contains materials relating to Dr. Meggers; and Subseries 1.D consists of glass plate negatives. Series 2 consists of the additional materials transferred from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2011. All glass plate negatives are presented in the order they were received from the donors.
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. William F. Meggers (1888 - 1966) was a noted physicist and spectroscopist at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). In 1918, Meggers conducted a NBS research project on sensitizing glass plate negatives and the effectiveness of certain aerial cameras. The glass plate negatives were aerial shots of the Washington, D.C. area taken from a Fokker (Atlantic) aircraft. The flights were made from Bolling Field and a field near Port Comfort, Virginia [now known as Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia]. The results from Meggers' study were published in The Journal of the Optical Society of America, 1920. [See: W. F. Meggers and F. J. Stimson, "Dyes for Photographic Sensitizing, Journal of the Optical Society of America, Vol. IV, Number 3, May 1920.]
Provenance:
Dr. William Meggers via daughter Dr. Betty J. Meggers, gift, 1967, NASM.XXXX.0280; additional material received from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), transfer, 2011
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (14 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Patents
Photographs
Engineering drawings
Date:
1947-1990
Summary:
The collection documents three major areas of Jacob Rabinow's work in improvement of electronic and other devices: phonograph record players, optical character recognition (reading machines) and automatic self regulation of watches and clocks.
Scope and Contents:
This collection comprises material from three major areas of Jacob Rabinow's work in improvement of electronic and other devices: phonograph record players, optical character recognition (reading machines) and automatic self regulation of watches and clocks. Included are technical descriptions, engineering drawings and sketches, numerous patent applications, patents, photographs of devices and voluminous correspondence, often related to patents and financial claims arising from them. The papers are grouped into the three areas of product innovation in approximate chronological order. In addition to many U.S. patents, Rabinow was granted numerous foreign patents, including British, French, German, Canadian and Japanese which are part of the collection. The patents as early as 1910 1917 were collected and assembled by Rabinow in his search of previous inventors' work.
Arrangement:
The papers are arranged into three series.
Series 1, Straight Line Photograph Arm, 1910-1917; 1947-1988
Subseries 1.1, Patents, 1910-1917; 1947-1988
Subseries 1.2, Litigation and Royalties, 1954-1980
Subseries 1.3, Brochures, Publicity, Photo Prints, and Advertisements, 1954-1980
Subseries 1.4, General Correspondence, 1954-1978
Series 2, Reading Machine, 1956-1990
Subseries 2.1, Patents, 1957-1958
Subseries 2.2, Brochures, Publicity, and Photo Prints, 1954-1970
Subseries 2.3, Correspondence, 1956-1960
Subseries 2.4, General Correspondence, 1954-1978
Series 3, Automatic Regulation of Watches and Clocks, 1948-1981
Subseries 3.1, Patents, 1948-1975
Subseries 3.2, Patent Right Litigation and Royalties, 1948-1976
Subseries 3.3, Brochures, Publicity, and Photo prints, 1953-1964
Subseries 3.4, General Correspondence, 1948-1981
Biographical / Historical:
Jacob Rabinow was born Jacob Rabinovich in the Kharkov, Ukraine in 1910 and moved with his family to Siberia in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1919, the Rabinow Family moved to China, where his father died. With his mother and brother, Rabinow then immigrated to the United States in 1921, where his mother established a corset shop in New York City. Rabinow graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (1933) and a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering (1934). After graduation in 1934, he worked at diverse jobs until he was hired by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and now known as National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST in 1938. At NBS Rabinow calibrated flow meters and then, with the outbreak of World War II, designed proximity fuses for Army bombs and rockets. To calculate the velocity of the falling fuses, he devised an acceleration integrator. He also worked on bombing techniques. Rabinow eventually became Chief of the Electro-Mechanical Ordnance Division at NBS before leaving in 1954 to form his own company, Rabinow Engineering.
At Rabinow Engineering, projects included the development of automatic winding equipment and test equipment for Sprague Electric; design of a letter sorter later built by Burroughs; a digital computer for the U.S. Post Office; and the construction of reading machines for RCA, UNIVAC, and others. When servicing machines began to require too much staff and travel, Rabinow sold his company and became a consultant. In 1964, Rabinow Engineering eventually became part of Control Data Corporation (CDC) where Rabinow was head of the Rabinow Advanced Development Laboratory. In 1968, Rabinow formed RABCO Company to manufacture his straight-line phonographs. RABCO was later acquired by the Harmon-Kardon Corporation. In 1972, Rabinow rejoined NBS where he was Chief Research Engineer. In 1975, he retired, but acted as a consultant.
Rabinow held 230 United States Patents on a wide variety of mechanical, optical and electrical devices. Of note is his magnetic particle clutch (1956) used in tape and disk drives; first automobile clutch to work by magnetic and not electrostatic charge (1956); first phonograph whose cartridge moved along a straight track rather than at the end of a swinging arm (1959); first self-regulating clock (1960); and his best known invention, a Reading Machine (1960). Rabinow was honored for his scientific work with the Naval Ordnance Development Award (1945); the President's Certificate of Merit (1948); the IEEE's Harry Diamond Award (1977); and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) Rabinow died September 11, 1999.
Related Materials:
The Division Medicine and Science holds the Rabinow Scanned Comparison Reading Machine (Accession #: 1982.0393.01).
Provenance:
Collection donated by Jacob Rabinow, 1990, Decmeber 17.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Hammond Radio Control Apparatus for Air Service of the U.S. Army
Collection Collector:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1920
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Braun radio tube and an instruction manual for use of an oscillograph tube
Collection Collector:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1920-1922
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Operating instructions for radio landing systems at Newark Airport
Collection Collector:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1933
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
War Department, Air Corps, Material Division, Report on "Radio Beacons for Atlantic Flights"
Collection Collector:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 8
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1928
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Report about Radio Acoustic Ranging to the United States and Geodetic Survey, Sound Laboratory, Bureaus of Standards
Collection Collector:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 6
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1924
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1924-05-31
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1920
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1917-1918
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Marton, Ladislaus Laszlo, 1901-1979 (physicist) Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Electricity and Modern Physics Search this
Names:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Extent:
4.66 Cubic feet (15 boxes, one (1) 16 mm film)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Blueprints
Lantern slides
Drawings
Photographs
Correspondence
Diagrams
Slides (photographs)
Notebooks
Date:
1932 - 1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of materials documenting the history of electron optics, especially electron microscopes. Included are engineering drawings of Marton's devices, designed in Belgium, Stanford and RCA in the 1930s and 1940s; notebooks concerning extensive investigations in electron microscopy; photographs and micrographs concerning development work in this area of physics; correspondence 1930s 702; and reprints of scientific literature relating to Marton's interests.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Notebooks, electron microscope, 1920s, undated
Series 2: Photographs, undated
Series 3: Printed Materials, 1940-1970
Biographical / Historical:
Ladislaus L. Marton 1901 1979 was a physicist best known for his pioneer work in electron physics, specifically in electron microscopy, electron optics, and electron interferences and scattering. He came to the United States in 1938, and became a naturalized citizen in 1944. He was a member of the faculty at the University of Brussels (Belgium), 1928 1938, and assistant professor from 1933 1938. He was a research physicist at the RCA Manufacturing Company from 1938 1941. He was associate professor of electron optics, head division Stanford University, 1941 1946. He was a physicist from 1946 1970 at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington. Until his death he was an honorable research associate at the Smithsonian Institution.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Ladislaus Laszlo Marton, circa 1970.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection contains Upson's papers and notebooks. The material consists of notebooks, both general (1911-35) and experimental (1928-68) and reference files on a variety of aeronautical subjects. The collection also contains material from Upson's teaching career, as well as miscellaneous personal documents.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains Upson's papers and notebooks. The material consists of notebooks, both general (1911-35) and experimental (1928-68) and reference files on a variety of aeronautical subjects. The collection also contains material from Upson's teaching career, as well as miscellaneous personal documents.
There is approximately seven cubic feet of correspondence, reports, manuscripts, notebooks
and various other materials.
Arrangement note:
Contents:
Series 1: Personal and Career
Subseries 1: Personal
Subseries 2: Career
Subseries 3: Education
Subseries 4: Authorship
Subseries 5: Correspondence
Series 2: Notepads and Notebooks
Subseries 1: Notepads and Appointment books
Subseries 2: Notebooks
Series 3: Subject files
Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Ralph Hazlett Upson (1888-1968) was an aeronautical engineer, inventor and pilot. After graduation from Stevens Institute of Technology (ME 1910) he rocketed to prominence by winning the International Balloon Race (1913) and American National Balloon Race (1913, 1921). He worked as chief engineer of the aeronautical department of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (1914-1920), during which time he flew the first United States Navy coastal patrol airship on a demonstration flight (1917) and served on the Navy Design Mission to Europe (1918-19). He then moved to the Aircraft Development Corp. (Chief Engineer 1922-27) while serving as chairman of the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) division of the Aeronautical Safety Code Commission, US Bureau of Standards (1922-24). He went to work for Aeromarine-Klemm Corp. and a number of other companies (1928-42), during which time he designed the first successful metal-clad airship, the ZMC-2 (1929). After a brief tenure at H. J. Heinze Co. (Chief of Aeronautical Engineering (1942-44) he moved into academia at New York University (NYU, Research Specialist and Lecturer 1944-46) and the University of Minnesota (Professor of Aeronautical Engineering 1946-56; Professor Emeritus 1956-1968). Upson then worked for Boeing (Research Specialist 1956-64) and remained an active consultant until his death.
General note:
An artifact from this collection, the Early Bird plaque of Ralph Upson, was transferred to the Aeronautics Division of the National Air and Space Museum.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Science, Medicine, and Society Search this
Names:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Notebooks
Date:
1946-1952
Summary:
Collection documents circuit development for the Standards Western Automatic Computer (SWAC). SWAC was an early digital computer built in 1950 by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Contents:
Three bound notebooks maintained by Harry Huskey, Dave Rutland and Harry T. Larson, documenting circuit development for the Standards Western Automatic Computer (SWAC). SWAC was an early digital computer built in 1950 by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in Los Angeles, California. Additional materials include one folder of test routines and coding sheets, from 1952.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Designed in 1950 by Huskey, and built by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in Los Angeles, California, SWAC was an early version of an electronic digital computer.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
